Friday, June 5, 2009

Something’s happened to me and I might be scarred for life... I can’t make brigadeiros! :(

The last couple of times I made the recipe it never firmed up enough to be rolled into balls. And this time was no different – I had this mad idea of replacing chocolate for lavender buds and it actually tasted good, but the minute I placed the candy balls into the paper cups they started to spread... Not pretty. :(

Butter a large plate and set aside.Place the lavender buds in a mortar and crush using a pestle.Mix the condensed milk, ground lavender and 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly – when the bottom of the pan starts to show and the mixture is a bit thicker, remove from heat and immediately pour into the prepared plate. Set aside to cool completely.To serve, place 2.5cm (1 inch) portions into individual small cups or tiny bowls, or roll into balls (lightly butter your palms to do it), roll through granulated sugar and place into fluted paper cups.

19 comments:

Hmm, maybe it's the brand you're using? Not cooking it long enough? If it still frustrates you, you might consider stirring in some full-fat powdered milk to thicken it without affecting the taste too much.

It does show promise, though. And you know how much I adore condensed milk! :)

Patricia, when I see the lavender, I think of these fields in the south, I saw last year. Imagine the aroma that emanates and sent the sun, holidays. So your recipe is a lovely sun of happiness. Good weekend

Patricia, yes, the problem is cooking time. First, if you are using a non stick pan, you will see the bottom all the time... second, when you see it, cooki a little bit more - 2 or 3 minutes, stirring constantly, don't stop!If you want to make sure it's done, put a small amount of the dough inside a glass of cold water. The dough must keep its shape. The other option for is cooking as you did, but serve inside little cups (plastic ones) and a small spoon. I love your blog!!!!

I don't know if you'll check the comments again, but a trick you may want to try is to cut back a little on the butter and use white chocolate in place of the chocolate from the traditional recipe. The white chocolate will leave more of a blank canvas for your flavors, while providing the firmness that you need. I'd love to know if this works!

Make sure to use real white chocolate and not "white chocolate morsels" which do not melt well and generally have no cocoa butter in them whatsoever.